Optical Engineer, Precision Instrumentation

Astera is a private foundation on a mission to steer science and technology toward a better future. We believe the coming years will bring an era of unprecedented scientific and technological advancement as exponential progress in AI converges with central advances in other fields to accelerate innovation. This inflection point provides an unparalleled opportunity to fundamentally rethink the institutions, systems, and tools that drive progress. We have committed a $3.5B endowment to that work and fit the form of our support to the function it serves: grants, investments, and in-house research programs. We accept meaningful risk in the research we back and expect some of it to fail because transformative ideas are rarely the ones already proven. Our projects, and the foundation itself, operate like high-velocity startups, with a high performance bar and competitive compensation to match. We are searching for leaders who are compelled by the challenge of driving high-impact change in the way science is funded, conducted, and communicated. You can read more about our mission, vision, and programming at astera.org/vision.

Astera Neuro seeks to understand and engineer consciousness. We believe consciousness is the process by which the brain builds a coherent internal model of the world and the self. We aim to understand this model and to develop the technologies to write experience directly into the brain. By combining large-scale neural recording, causal perturbation, and brain-based AI, we seek to move neuroscience from observing correlates of experience to engineering it. The same tools carry direct therapeutic promise for neurological and psychiatric diseases that alter perception, thought, and sense of self. Because the science and tools required do not yet exist, we are assembling a founding team of neuroscientists, theorists, and engineers to create them. We do high-risk, high-reward science in a well-resourced, collaborative environment with competitive pay, and share everything openly under Astera's Open Science Policy.

Reading and writing complex neural activity patterns with light, via two-photon imaging and two-photon optogenetics, is one of the principal ways Astera Neuro will pursue this mission. You will design and build the optical systems our experiments depend on, most of which don’t exist commercially.

Working directly with scientists and industry collaborators, you will develop a design, build it, and iterate until it works for the experiment. Some projects are well specified from the start; others begin as a rough idea that takes shape as you build. The work crosses mechanical design, fabrication, electronics, and optics, often within a single project. You do not need a background in neuroscience to apply; we are looking for world-class generalists who have built precision hardware in demanding industry settings, and who pick up the science as they go.

You will own complex instruments end-to-end and help drive technical direction.

• Design precision optical systems for neuroscience experiments, such as large field-of-view, high-speed two-photon imaging and photostimulation microscopes.

• Develop an advanced miniature two-photon microscope capable of simultaneous imaging and photostimulation in freely moving animals.

• Build electronics, control hardware, and software that interface the optical systems with data acquisition and the rest of the research stack.

Required:

• PhD, MS, or BS with 3-12 years of experience in optical engineering, biomedical engineering, physics, or a related field. Graduate work or research experience is a plus but not required.

• A world-class generalist and hands-on problem-solver who has built precision hardware in a high-precision industry, ideally medical devices, robotics, aerospace, semiconductor capital equipment, or commercial or academic scientific instrumentation. You have designed and built hardware that other people relied on for real work, and kept it running.

• Resourcefulness about getting things built quickly: you will machine one part, 3D-print the next, and send a job out for what is better outsourced.

• Comfort working from a rough idea rather than a finished spec, figuring out the path to a working instrument together with the people who need it.

• Deep fundamentals in optical design and fabrication.

• Intellectually curious, collaborative, and eager to learn the science around you.

• A track record of owning complex instruments end-to-end, from concept through fabrication, integration, and reliable operation.

• Experience making and defending design tradeoffs across performance, manufacturability, cost, and timeline.

• Experience equipping and running an optical workshop, makerspace, or prototyping facility.

Preferred/Nice to Have:

• Familiarity with femtosecond lasers, non-linear microscopy, and wavefront engineering.

• Experience with optical alignment, small precise parts, and tight tolerances.

• Hands-on electronics design (PCB layout, embedded systems, sensor/actuator integration).

• CAD/CAM proficiency and 3D printing.

• Experience integrating hardware with data acquisition systems (DAQ, TTL synchronization, serial/SPI protocols).

Why Join Us

Astera Neuro is hiring a world-class optical engineer to design and build the optical instruments large-scale neuroscience depends on, most of which don’t exist commercially, from optimizing the scale and speed of existing two-photon imaging and photostimulation systems to developing novel technologies for fast optical interfacing with brain tissue at cellular resolution. You don’t need a neuroscience background; you need to love hard design problems and getting things built fast.

Astera Neuro provides a comprehensive benefits package and total compensation that is competitive and commensurate with the level of experience and qualifications.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion!